Connect Four and Engage Learning

I'm constantly looking for ways to engage students in the content we are learning.  Today as I worked on a lesson for solving addition and subtraction equations, I wanted a game that students could play that helped them practice.  My primary objective was for students to work problems, but not on a worksheet.  I also wanted them to take a break from technology and actually have a chance to talk with each other about the problems while they played. My usual first step is to go online and see what others have available and today I didn't find what I was looking for.   I decided to create my own with Google slides.

Now keep in mind I haven't used this with my class yet, so there may be a few kinks to work out.  My plan is to have the kids play connect four and in order for them to place a marker on the game board they would need to answer a question card correctly (my students will need to show their work on a white board).  At times, playing a game won't work into our schedule so the question cards can be used as task cards as well.  As a timesaver for myself, I created a blank template as well.  It has endless possibilities.  Enjoy!!

Addition and Subtraction Equations

Blank Connect Four Game Board and Task Cards